Chapter 101: The Fishing Association Has Come

I thought Xiao Hu would surely come early this morning, but instead of waiting for Xiao Hu, I ended up waiting for Chen Jinshui.

"Uncle Jinshui? Why are you coming to see me so early?" Ye Cheng looked at Chen Jinshui, puzzled.

Chen Jinshui's face flushed with excitement: "Lao Er, today I invited a few friends; shall we go fishing together later?"

He came to invite me to go fishing?

Is it because I performed exceptionally well last time?

"My friends are all professional sea anglers; I told them you're skilled, but they don't believe me. Come on, today I'll definitely let them see what our Baiyun Village fishing expert is like."

Chen Jinshui seemed extremely proud of having Ye Cheng, this fishing expert, and his view differed from that of other villagers.

Indeed, the mindset of a fishing expert is just that peculiar—no distinction between rich and poor, no class divisions; as long as you can catch fish, you're awesome.

Seeing Chen Jinshui so excited, Ye Cheng instinctively demurred: "Uncle, I'm just lucky; I can't compare to the professionals."

Who has time to compete in this? It's better to spend that time making money.

Chen Jinshui didn't care whether Ye Cheng agreed; he simply took Ye Cheng's fishing rod and bucket and headed out, saying along the way, "Lao Er, you'll improve only by learning more—come on, we're just fishing at our village's seaside, not going far."

"Uncle, Jinshui uncle." Ye Cheng followed behind, calling out helplessly for a while with no effect, so he could only say resignedly,

"Uncle, I'll go, I'll go—is that not okay? Wait a moment and I'll go call Xiao Hu."

Upon hearing Ye Cheng agree, Chen Jinshui chuckled: "Calling Xiao Hu, right? I'll go; how could I let you, this expert, go?"

Having said that, he tossed his things by the door and darted off to call Xiao Hu.

Ye Cheng gave a wry smile; for someone like Chen Jinshui with simple thoughts, he sometimes really felt embarrassed to refuse.

Soon, Chen Jinshui came running with a bewildered Xiao Hu in tow, both panting.

"Well... okay, that... Lao Er, can we set off now?"

"Have your friends arrived?" Ye Cheng glanced at the time; it was just past eight.

"They'll be here any minute; for fishing, they're even more eager than for meals."

Chen Jinshui's enthusiasm left the two of them nowhere to escape; he dragged them toward the seaside.

Xiao Hu held the fishing rod Ye Cheng gave him, loving it so much that he tossed his own broken rod onto the ground.

Uncle Jinshui also brought his; three people, three rods, they walked handsomely along the village path—undoubtedly the most handsome lads in this village.

Upon reaching the village entrance, from afar they saw a parked off‑road vehicle, looks like a Mitsubishi, and an imported one at that.

"Uncle Jinshui, your friend is quite well‑off; why didn't I see you knowing such a big boss before?" Ye Cheng teased, looking at Uncle Jinshui.

Uncle Jinshui shook his head repeatedly: "No, my friend is just an ordinary person; he couldn't afford this car."

"Huh? Then who is this? Could it be someone else coming?"

"I don't know; I'll call him."

He pulled out his phone but hadn't dialed yet when the Mitsubishi's door opened, and a middle‑aged man in a vest and camouflage cap stepped out, waving at Chen Jinshui,

"Jinshui, over here."

Seeing him, Chen Jinshui excitedly told Ye Cheng: "This is my friend; I guess he came in someone else's car."

The three went to meet him, and the people in the car also got out—two men in total.

One was Chen Jinshui's friend, carrying a fishing rod and bucket; the other, the driver, wore sunglasses, a golf cap, dressed neatly, and his fishing rod looked anything but cheap.

Unlike them carrying buckets, he held a professional fishing box.

Such fishing boxes are common nowadays, but back then they were really rare.

After a while of small talk, Chen Jinshui introduced everyone to each other:

His friend was Zhao You Tian, also from a county near Donghai Shi, much like Chen Jinshui—still the type who isn't properly ambitious, just knows how to have fun, whose biggest hobby is fishing.

And the driver was Zhao You Tian's paternal cousin, a few years younger, named Zhao Zhiming.

"Zhiming is in business, and he's also a member of our Donghai Shi Fishing Association—impressive, right?" Zhao You Tian proudly introduced his own cousin, saying, "I heard there's an expert today, so I came to meet him."

After they finished showing off, Chen Jinshui quickly pushed Ye Cheng forward, pointing at him and saying, "Well, You Tian, this is Ye Cheng—the newcomer I told you about, but he's quite skilled."

"This is Xiao Hu, also from our village." Poor Xiao Hu never got a chance to reveal his full name.

Zhao Zhiming glanced at Ye Cheng, his brows slightly furrowed; this person looked delicate and soft, holding his fishing rod so casually, not at all like an expert.

Moreover, how was he just introduced?

A newcomer?

Zhao Zhiming turned to look at his paternal uncle: "Uncle, is he a newcomer?"

Zhao You Tian felt a bit embarrassed, gave an awkward laugh: "Well, Jinshui didn't make it clear; no matter, as long as we all catch fish together."

Zhao You Tian said that, but Zhao Zhiming gave him no face, lowered his head, pushed up his sunglasses, and said to Chen Jinshui,

"Where are we going to fish? Let's go."

From start to finish, Zhao Zhiming never said a word to Ye Cheng—clearly he looked down on him.

"Bro, this guy is a bit Versailles," Xiao Hu whispered, leaning in.

Having taught Xiao Hu the word 'Versailles' and regretted it countless times, Ye Cheng now accepts any usage of it from him.

"They're here to fish; we're here to make money—why bother caring whether they pay attention to you?"

After speaking to Xiao Hu, Ye Cheng turned to Uncle Jinshui and said, "Uncle, let's hurry; it'll get hot soon."

"A fishing expert worrying about whether it's hot? Haha, too unprofessional." Zhao Zhiming, walking ahead, muttered mockingly, clearly looking down on Ye Cheng as a non‑professional angler.

Ye Cheng usually ignores such overconfident idiots.

The five walked along the beach toward the sea; after about twenty minutes, just a bit further inland from where Ye Cheng had fished last time, there were several flat stone platforms, ideal for fishing.

Upon arrival, Zhao Zhiming walked to the edge of the stone platform and glanced down, observing the water conditions.

Xiao Hu muttered from behind, "Watch out, don't fall to your death."

Ye Cheng turned and glared at him: "We just do our own thing; don't worry about them."

Zhao Zhiming looked around, picked a spot, and began setting up his gear.

Come on, come on, get over here by our Zhiming—what he's seen is definitely fine, absolutely reliable. Zhao You Tian warmly waved people over.

Lao Er, Xiao Hu, come on, come over and learn together with them. Uncle Jin Shui picked up a small stool and sat beside Zhao Zhiming.